After a highly-anticipated first year as head football coach at FAMU ended at 3-9, you’d expect Earl Holmes to feel somewhat pressured.

He actually is, but he said what he feels is self-applied – not because last season might have left some fans questioning whether he can right the ship before it sinks.

“When I took this job, I knew what it would be all about,” Holmes said.

“I’ve been in this business for a very long time as a player and as a coach. I know the demands, the challenges. And I know it’s ‘what have you done for me lately.’ ”

A lot was thrown at Holmes quickly.

When Joe Taylor announced his retirement from coaching in November of 2012, Holmes was pressed into the interim head coach position for the final two games of the season.

By the time FAMU decided in December to keep him on, it was almost too late for Holmes to do any meaningful recruiting.

Then he lost defensive coordinator Levan Kirkland and offensive coordinator Qunn Gray for a month during the season. Gray was hospitalized and Kirkland was with his wife during her struggle in a fight against cancer that she eventually lost.

Holmes’ staff took another hit when running backs coach Elijah Williams left the job to attend family matters.

Holmes hired former Buffalo Bills running back Shawn Bryson to replace Williams, but lost his defensive line coach to athletic budget cuts.

With his staff reshuffled and his first recruiting class in camp, Holmes knows a winning season is all fans want. He and his staff seemingly are pushing for just that.

More than ever there is a sense of urgency in preseason camp.

Coaches are taking a more obvious in-you-ear approach with their players.

Two weeks into camp, coaches were demanding a lot. Players who didn’t deliver sufficiently had to give way to another.

Cornerbacks coach Corey Fuller stays especially tough on his unit. When one of his players got beaten on a pass play during a recent practice, Fuller yanked him to the sidelines.

“I gave you a shot and you don’t want it,” Fuller yelled across the practice field, ushering another player to take the field.

The expectation is high for his players to perform, especially the upperclassmen, Holmes said.

“We demand more of our (players) because they’ve been with us,” Holmes said. “We know that they know but they’ve got to do it on a consistent basis.”

It’s not just last year’s losing record that fans question.

Holmes, a stalwart player in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ famed iron curtain defense when he played in the NFL, brought a 3-4 defense to the program.

It became the source of contention that Holmes’ defensive scheme is too complicated for the level of players on the team. He caught even more flack when he took over and his offensive coordinator Gray introduced a pro-style offense.

But Holmes insisted that it will work because he’s recruiting the caliber of players that can execute it.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes,” Holmes said.

“I know that hard work and dedication will pay off and I’m going to continue to work hard to do everything I can to turn our program around.

“A lot of people want the microwave life; put it in for two minutes and it’s done. If you want to have one winning season, yes. But if you’re trying to build a dynasty it takes some time. It’s a process. It’s not that we are asking the (players) to do something they can’t do.”